Pietersen due back for Delhi on Friday

Delhi Daredevils will soon be boosted by the return of captain and star batsman Kevin Pietersen, who missed the start of the IPL due to a fractured finger but is due back for Friday's match against Hyderabad.

Delhi Daredevils will soon be boosted by the return of captain and star batsman Kevin Pietersen, who missed the start of the IPL due to a fractured finger but is due back for Friday's match against Hyderabad.

The Daredevils, much admired ahead of the tournament with Pietersen in their ranks and Gary Kirsten as coach, have not had a good time in the first week, only beating Kolkata, as they missed Pietersen's fire power.

Pietersen told iplt20.com: "I'm going to hopefully be back in the next game after I train well for a week. I have trained a couple of days, but it hasn't been an ideal start going into this tournament.

"I had good practice for a couple of weeks in London, but then hurt myself and have had three weeks off. I just need another good week of training and then I'll be back."

The Daredevils lost two of their first three matches and recording a terrible net run rate, sitting in the bottom half of the table. But Pietersen is still upbeat, saying that training hard and relaxing on the field will bring rewards.

He said: "I want all the guys in the team to know that there is no pressure. I want all the players to relax and play to the best of their ability. Another important thing for me as a leader is that the guys train well.

"According to me, the training should be so thorough and intense that the game-day becomes easier."

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